Set a Sand Bucket Budget
Forget saving for a rainy day. Instead, stash cash you can’t touch, so that you can savor a string of sunny days you pay for
in advance. All you take home is a golden tan and souvenirs, not a fat Visa bill.
Money pros advocate vacation buckets—special accounts where you sock away savings monthly. Take off your rose-colored shades
and realistically project costs. If the daily rate for a Maui resort and spa is $349, that’s $2,443 for seven nights. Add
airfare, meals, car rental, spa treatments, entry fees, and shopping money, and even taxes, tips, and frozen cocktails—everything
you can think of. Then divide the amount by 12 and commit to putting that figure away religiously on payday.
“There are certain things you go into debt for, like your home or a student loan, because the value of a house or an education
far outlasts the life of the loan,” says Dave Dowd, a certified financial planner in Montclair, New Jersey. “But a vacation
is fleeting. It’s here and it’s gone, so it’s something you should save for. You don’t want to go into debt to take a trip.”
- Loading comments...
